Woman accused of poisoning men during "love triangle gone bad"

A Burke County woman was arrested late Thursday afternoon and accused of contaminating food that she fed to her boyfriend and her lover.

"She basically poisoned two boyfriends," said Detective Scott Carico of the Burke County Sheriff's Office. Tara Jackson was arrested after investigators had worked on the case for weeks.

It began, they said, after she came forward and said her boyfriend had been poisoned with antifreeze. That man was hospitalized in intensive care in Charlotte and was on life support until just a week ago.

Jackson has not been charged with the anti-freeze poisoning, but is facing two counts of distributing contaminated food after admitting, say detectives, to putting crushed up muscle relaxers in that boyfriend's food and in another's. "These charges stem from her contaminating a potato on one victim and a Mountain Dew on another victim."

WBTV cameras were there as Jackson was arrested Thursday afternoon. She was silent as she was taken to the sheriff's office and jailed under a bond of $25,000. Detectives say more charges are possible. "She is a suspect in the anti-freeze poisoning," said Calico.

Antifreeze is toxic to animals and humans. Warning labels on the containers warn of possible heart and kidney disease and that consuming it could be fatal. The victim who authorities believe was poisoned with antifreeze is having serious kidney problems and may never fully recover, they said.

Jackson has been in trouble with the law before involving property crimes. She was on intensive probation and under a court order to perform community service when she was arrested on the contamination charges. It is unclear what this arrest will do, if anything to probation.